Method and apparatus for portable self-contained node computer

ABSTRACT

A portable self-contained node computer is provided. The portable self-contained node computer connects to a host computer. The host computer allows the portable node computer to access its peripheral input/output devices.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

This application relates generally to computing devices, and moreparticularly to portable node computers.

2. Background

Computing devices, such as personal computers, laptops, mobiletelephones, etc., have differing capabilities. For example, computersare often configured to run one particular operating system, such asMicrosoft Windows or Mac OS. Mobile phones often have various optionalfeatures. It would be desirable to have a way of expanding thecapabilities of a computing device.

SUMMARY

In one aspect of the disclosure, a portable computing apparatuscomprises a processing system, comprising a first operating system, isconfigured to establish a connection to a host computing device, whereinthe host apparatus is configured to present itself to the node apparatusas one or more peripheral devices, and wherein the node apparatus actsas a master device interacting directly with the one or more peripheraldevices.

In another aspect of the disclosure, an apparatus comprises meansestablishing a connection to a host computing device, wherein the hostapparatus is configured to present itself to the node apparatus as oneor more peripheral devices, and wherein the node apparatus acts as amaster device interacting directly with the one or more peripheraldevices.

In another aspect of the disclosure, a method of computing using a nodeapparatus comprises establishing a connection to a host apparatus,wherein the host apparatus is configured to present itself to the nodeapparatus as one or more peripheral devices, and wherein the nodeapparatus acts as a master device interacting directly with the one ormore peripheral devices.

In another aspect of the disclosure, a host apparatus comprises aprocessing system comprising a first operating system, wherein theprocessing system is configured to establish a connection to one or morenode apparatuses; and to provide virtual access to one or moreperipheral devices to the one or more node apparatuses, wherein the nodeapparatus acts as a master device interacting directly with one or moreperipheral devices.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The disclosed aspects will hereinafter be described in conjunction withthe appended drawings, provided to illustrate and not to limit thedisclosed aspects, wherein like designations denote like elements, andin which:

FIG. 1 depicts a communications system;

FIG. 2 is a conceptual block diagram of a host apparatus;

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram of a node apparatus;

FIG. 4 is a conceptual block diagram of a communications system;

FIG. 5 is another conceptual block diagram of another communicationssystem;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart depicting a communication process;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart depicting another communication process;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart depicting yet another communication process; and

FIG. 9 is another conceptual block diagram of a node apparatus.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various aspects of apparatuses and methods, and the environments inwhich they operate, will be described below. The apparatuses andmethods, however, may be embodied in many different forms and should notbe construed as limited to the various configurations presentedthroughout this disclosure. Rather, the various aspects of theseapparatuses and methods are provided so that this disclosure will bethorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the presentinvention to those skilled in the art. As those skilled in the art willreadily appreciate, various details may be presented for the purpose ofproviding a thorough understanding of the apparatuses and methods,however, various configurations of these apparatuses and steps of themethods may be implemented without these specific details. In someinstances, well-known structures and components are shown in blockdiagram form in order to avoid obscuring the various concepts presentedthroughout this disclosure.

Various aspects of apparatuses and methods will now be presented withreference to a communications system. As depicted in FIG. 1, acommunication system 100 may comprise one or more node apparatuses 102connected to a host apparatus 104. Host apparatus 104 may be connectedto a network 106 via known wired or wireless connectivity protocols.

Host apparatus 104 may have associated therewith one or more peripheraldevices 108. These peripheral devices 108 may include, for example, amonitor, display, keyboard, mouse, printer, a hard disk drive, a networkcard, and/or other peripheral devices. Node apparatuses 102 may accessperipheral devices 108 via host apparatus 104. That is, host apparatus104 may present its peripheral devices 108 to node apparatuses 102 asthough the peripheral devices 108 are directly connected to the nodeapparatus 102. Accordingly, the node apparatus 102 acts as a masterdevice when interacting with the peripherals. The node apparatus 102 maynot be aware of the host apparatus 104 or any other node apparatusesconnected to the host. Host apparatus 104 may be, for example, apersonal computer, server, cellular phone, personal digital assistant,portable gaming device, monitor, television, mobile phone, digitalcamera, and/or any other electronic device. The node apparatuses 102 andhost apparatus 104 may be connected using any communications protocolsuch as, for example, USB, Ethernet, etc.

Each node apparatus 102 may be a small, self-contained computing device.For example, the node apparatus 102 may be a USB fob, a DIMM, a compactflash card, and/or any other small, self-contained computing device.Node apparatuses 102 may receive power from host apparatus 104, and mayalso rely on the network connection and peripheral devices of hostapparatus 104.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual block diagram illustrating an example of a hostapparatus 200. In this example, the host apparatus 200 is shown with auser interface 202 (e.g., a keyboard, display, speaker, microphone,joystick, and/or any other combination user interface devices), aprocessing system 204, and a transceiver 206. The processing system 204may have one or more processors represented generally by processor 212and a computer readable medium (e.g., memory) 214.

The processing system 204 may be implemented using software, hardware,or a combination of both. By way of example, the processor 212 may beimplemented with one or more, or any combination of, microprocessors,digital signal processors (DSP), application specific integratedcircuits (ASIC), microcontrollers, field programmable gate arrays (FPGA)or other programmable logic, state machines, discrete gates, transistorlogic, discrete hardware components, or some other processing entitydesigned to perform the various functions presented throughout thisdisclosure. Those skilled in the art will recognize how best toimplement the described functionality for the processing system 204depending on the particular application and the overall designconstraints imposed on the overall system.

Software shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, data, or anycombination thereof, whether referred to as software, firmware,middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise.Computer readable medium 214 may include, by way of example, RAM (RandomAccess Memory), flash memory, ROM (Read Only Memory), PROM (ProgrammableRead-Only Memory), EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory),EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), registers,magnetic disks, optical disks, hard drives, or any other suitablestorage medium, or any combination thereof. The computer readable medium214 may be embodied in a computer product. The computer product maycomprise packaging materials.

In the conceptual illustration presented in FIG. 2, the computerreadable medium 214 is shown as part of the processing system 204separate from the processor 212. However, as those skilled in the artwill readily appreciate, the computer readable medium 214, or anyportion thereof, may be external to the processing system 204. By way ofexample, the computer readable medium 214 may include a transmissionline, a carrier wave modulated by data, and/or a computer productseparate from the host apparatus 200, all which may be accessed by theprocessor 212 through an interface (not shown). Alternatively, or inaddition to, the computer readable medium 214, or any portion thereof,may be integrated into the processor 212, such as the case may be withcache and/or general register files.

Transceiver 206 may provide a transmitting and/or a receiving function.The transmitting function modulates a carrier with data for transmissionover the wireless medium and the receiving function demodulates acarrier received over the wireless medium to recover data. Transceiver206 may also provide various other functions, such as RF front-endprocessing, analog/digital conversion, timing and frequency estimation,channel estimation, modulation coding scheme (MCS), etc.

The processor 212 provides general processing functions, including theexecution of software stored on the computer readable medium 214. Thesoftware includes instructions that when executed by the processor 212,cause the processing system 204 to perform the various functionspresented throughout this disclosure.

The functions and methods described herein may be implemented by variousmodules in the wireless device. As used in this disclosure, the term“modules” is intended to refer to either hardware, firmware, acombination of hardware and software, software, or software inexecution. By way of example, a module may be a process, an object, anexecutable, a thread of execution, a program, an application, a routine,a subroutine, a block of code or instructions, or any other softwareexecuted by the processor 212 or by another processing device. In thisexample, these modules may reside in the computer readable medium 214which represents a single storage device, multiple storage devices, orother media. By way of example, a module may be loaded into RAM from alarger storage device prior to execution. During execution, theprocessor 212 may load the module, or any portion thereof into cache toincrease access speed. One or more cache lines may then be loaded into ageneral register file for execution by the processor 212. When referringto the functionality of a module in software applications, it will beunderstood that such functionality may be implemented by the processor212 when executing the module, or any portion thereof. Computer readablemedium 214 may include, for example, a peripheral visualization module216. This module may be configured to enable a node apparatus toestablish a connection to host 200, and to access any peripheral devicesassociated with host 200. For video, for example, the output of a nodeapparatus may appear as a window on a monitor associated with hostapparatus 200. For networking, host apparatus 200 may act as a routerfor a node apparatus. Peripheral visualization module 216 may alsoprovide shared access to the host's clipboard and/or other inter-nodecommunication services.

In some implementations, the host apparatus may be a simple mobiletelephone having only basic functionality. A node apparatus may beconfigured having stored thereon a mobile telephone operating system,and one or more mobile phone applications. The node apparatus may beused to extend the functionality of the host apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual block diagram of a node apparatus 300. Nodeapparatus 300 is shown with a processing system 302 and a transceiver310. Processing system 302 includes a processor 312 and a computerreadable medium 314. Processing system 302 and transceiver 310 operatesimilar to the processing system 204 and transceiver 206 of hostapparatus 200. As such, further description of these elements isomitted. Computer readable medium 314 may include a host connectionmodule 316 that enables the node to connect to and access the resourcesof a host apparatus.

FIG. 4 depicts one exemplary configuration wherein a plurality of nodeapparatuses is connected to a host device in a server farm. Typically,numerous servers are housed in a room to provide network operations foran organization. The larger number of server computers generate a largeamount of heat and consume a large amount of power. By connecting aplurality of node apparatuses to a single host, a reduction in heat andpower can be realized.

As depicted in FIG. 4, a plurality of nodes 410 is connected to a host420. Network connectivity and power may be provided to nodes 410 by host420. Each node has a processing system 302. As described above,processing system 302 may include one or more processors and a computerreadable medium. Similarly, host 420 comprises a processing system 204.The functions of the plurality of modules associated with each of nodes410 and host 420 may be executed by the respective processors, and mayreside in the respective computer readable mediums.

Network booting module 412 may use the network connection provided byhost 420 to perform a network booting operation. Nodes 410 and host 420may be configured as a distributed processing system. Host 420 mayinclude a distributed processing module 422 which dispatches processingjobs to each node 410. Task processing module 414 processes the assignedjobs.

In some configurations, node apparatuses may be configured asmicro-computers. Each node apparatus may operate a particular operatingsystem which may be different from that of the host device. This enablesa single host device, such as a personal computer, to operate usingdifferent operating systems. For example, a personal computer using theWindows operating system may have connected thereto a first nodeapparatus running Linux and a second node apparatus running Mac OS. Auser of the personal computer can use all three operating systems on onepersonal computer.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual block diagram showing a host apparatus 510 havingconnected thereto a node apparatus 520. Host apparatus 510 includes aprocessing system, which runs a plurality of modules including aperipheral visualization module 514. Node apparatus 520 includes aprocessing system which runs a plurality of modules including operatingsystem module 524.

Peripheral visualization module 514, as described above with respect toFIG. 2, enables a node apparatus to establish a connection to a hostapparatus, and to access the peripheral devices associated with the hostapparatus. While only a single node apparatus is shown in FIG. 5,multiple node apparatuses may be provided. The node apparatus may beunaware of the host device or other connected nodes. As such, differentoperating systems may be used without compatibility restrictions on thehardware or software platforms of the host device.

Operating system module 524 provides a pre-configured operating system.The operating system may be, for example, Windows, Linux, Mac, Unix,and/or any other operating system. In addition to operating as a generalpurpose computer, as described in relation to FIG. 5, a node apparatusmay be configured as an application distribution, execution, andcopy-protection device. That is, the node may be dedicated to a specificapplication or suite of applications. Application processing module 526may be provided to execute the application or suite of applications. Thenode may be a self contained micro-computer distinct from the operatingsystem of the host device, or may rely on specific applicationprogramming interfaces (APIs) of the host device. A software vendor maysell applications pre-installed on a node apparatus. The applicationsmay run directly from the node apparatus when connected to a hostdevice. This allows a user to easily transport all necessary programsand have access to those programs from any computing device. Someapplications may require large amounts of data. For example, financialmanagement programs such as Quicken or Microsoft Money store largeamounts of financial data. A node apparatus may be configured to encryptand digitally sign the data, and store the data in an on-line datastorage service.

Node apparatus 520 may also have associated therewith a security profilemodule 528. This module may be used to set access permission for thenode apparatus. For example, the security profile module 528 mayindicate whether node apparatus 520 has access to any of files orstorage components of host apparatus 510. The security profile module528 may partition the node into different security domains depending onthe type of process being performed by the device. For example,accessing certain websites may not allow the node apparatus to accessany of the host's files or directories. Security selection module 516,included in host 510, may be configured to detect the security profileassociated with a connect node, and to provide access to resources suchas the file system based on the security profile.

FIG. 6 depicts an exemplary process that may be implemented by a nodedevice. As depicted at 602, the node device may establish a connectionto a host apparatus. In some instances, the node device may be aself-contained, removable computing device such as, for example, a USBfob, a compact flash drive, and/or any other device. The connection maybe established using the protocols associated with the device when thedevice is plugged into, or otherwise connected to, the host apparatus.

In some implementations, one or more nodes may be connected to a host,and the host and node(s) operate in a distributed manner. As depicted at604, a node device may perform a network booting operation via a networkconnection provided by the host apparatus. As depicted at 606, thenode(s) may then perform one or more tasks assigned by the host device.The host device may dispatch processing jobs to the node(s) via thenetwork connection.

FIG. 7 depicts another exemplary process that may be implemented by anode device. As depicted at 702, the node device may establish aconnection to a host apparatus. This connection establishment processmay be performed in the same manner as described above in reference toFIG. 6.

A node device may be configured as a micro-computer without anyperipherals. As depicted at 704, upon establishing a connection to ahost device, the node device may view the host device as one or moreperipherals directly connected to the node. For example, the node devicemay interact with a monitor connected to the host device as if themonitor were directly connected to the node. The node device may beconfigured with an operating system, and the operating system may bedifferent from that of a host device to which the node is connected. Asdepicted at 706, the node device may execute a first operating system.The operating system may be executed in a window presented by the hostdevice. The node device may view the window as being an actual monitorto which it is directly connected.

In some implementations, a node device may be configured to run aparticular application or suite of applications. Thus, as depicted at708, the node device may execute the application or suite ofapplications. The node device accesses and interacts with peripheraldevices associated with the host apparatus as though directly connectedto the peripheral devices. Thus, depending upon the application, thenode device, when executing the application, may access a windowpresented by the monitor, a keyboard connected to the host device, amouse, the host's file system, etc.

According to some aspects of the invention, a large amount of data maybe generated when executing the application or suite of applications. Asdepicted at 710, the node apparatus may encrypt and digitally sign datagenerated during the execution of the application or suite ofapplications. As depicted at 712, the encrypted and digitally signeddata may be stored at a remote storage device, such as, for example, anonline-accessible storage device.

FIG. 8 depicts an exemplary process that may be implemented by a hostdevice. As depicted at 802, the host device may establish a connectionto one or more devices. Each node device may be configured according toa particular security profile. The nodes may be used for network-facingapplications such as, for example, web browsers. Some nodes may beconfigured for use only within a corporate intranet, for example, whileothers are configured for browsing the internet. The level of securityassociated with a node may depend on the particular types of web pagesto be accessed. As depicted at 804, the host device may determine thesecurity profile associated with a connected device.

Based on the determined security profile, the host device may determinewhich one or more peripheral devices the node is allowed virtual accessto, as depicted at 806. For example, a node configured only for use withan intranet may be allowed to access the file system associated with thehost. However, a node device used to access hacking websites or otherpotentially dangerous content may be prohibited from accessing the filesystem.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the functionalityof a node apparatus 900. In this example, the node apparatus 900includes a module 902 for establishing a connection to a host apparatus,and a module 904 for viewing the host apparatus as one or moreperipheral devices.

While the foregoing disclosure discusses illustrative aspects and/orembodiments, it should be noted that various changes and modificationscould be made herein without departing from the scope of the describedaspects and/or embodiments as defined by the appended claims.Furthermore, although elements of the described aspects and/orembodiments may be described or claimed in the singular, the plural iscontemplated unless limitation to the singular is explicitly stated.Additionally, all or a portion of any aspect and/or embodiment may beutilized with all or a portion of any other aspect and/or embodiment,unless stated otherwise.

1. A node apparatus, comprising: a processing system, comprising anoperating system, configured to: establish a connection to a hostapparatus, wherein the node apparatus is configured to view the hostapparatus as one or more peripheral devices, and wherein the nodeapparatus acts as a master device interacting directly with the one ormore peripheral devices.
 2. The node apparatus of claim 1, wherein theprocessing system is further configured to perform a network bootingoperation via a network connection provided by the host apparatus. 3.The node apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing system is furtherconfigured to process one or more tasks assigned by the host apparatus.4. The node apparatus of clam 1, wherein the processing system isfurther configured to access one or more resources associated with thehost apparatus based on a pre-configured security profile.
 5. The nodeapparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more peripheral devicescomprises one or more of a mouse, a hard disk drive, or a network cardconnected directly to the host apparatus.
 6. The node apparatus of claim1, wherein the host apparatus has associated therewith a secondoperating system different from the operating system.
 7. The nodeapparatus of claim 6, wherein first operating system is accessed in awindow of a monitor of the host apparatus.
 8. The node apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the host apparatus comprises one of a personalcomputer, a server, or a personal digital assistant.
 9. The nodeapparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing system is configured tooperate a dedicated application or suite of applications, wherein theapplication or suite of applications is stored on the node apparatus andis executed directly from the node apparatus when connected to the hostapparatus.
 10. The node apparatus of claim 9, wherein the processingsystem is further configured to encrypt and digitally sign datagenerated during the execution of the application or suite ofapplications, and to store the encrypted and digitally signed data at aremote storage device.
 11. The node apparatus of claim 10, wherein theremote storage device is an online storage device.
 12. The nodeapparatus of claim 1, wherein the host apparatus comprises a mobiletelephone, and wherein the processing system comprises a mobiletelephone operating system used to operate the host apparatus.
 13. Thenode apparatus of claim 12, wherein the processing system furthercomprises an application processor and one or more applications, the oneor more applications being accessed via the host apparatus.
 14. The nodeapparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing system is configured toestablish the connection to the host apparatus via a USB connection. 15.The node apparatus of claim 1, wherein the node apparatus is a selfcontained USB fob.
 16. The node apparatus of claim 1, wherein theprocessing system is configured to establish a connection to the hostapparatus via an Ethernet connection.
 17. A node apparatus comprising:means for establishing a connection to a host apparatus; means forviewing the host apparatus as one or more peripheral devices, whereinwherein the node apparatus acts as a master device interacting directlywith the one or more peripheral devices.
 18. The node apparatus of claim17, further comprising: means for performing a network booting operationvia a network connection provided by the host apparatus.
 19. The nodeapparatus of claim 17, further comprising: means for processing one ormore tasks assigned by the host apparatus.
 20. The node apparatus ofclam 17, further comprising: means for accessing one or more resourcesassociated with the host apparatus based on a pre-configured securityprofile.
 21. The node apparatus of claim 17, wherein the one or moreperipheral devices comprises one or more of a mouse, a hard disk drive,or a network card connected directly to the host apparatus.
 22. The nodeapparatus of claim 17, further comprising: means for executing a firstoperating system, the host apparatus having associated therewith asecond operating system different from the first operating system. 23.The node apparatus of claim 22, wherein the first operating system isaccessed in a window of a monitor of the host apparatus.
 24. The nodeapparatus of claim 17, wherein the host apparatus comprises one of apersonal computer, a server, a mobile telephone, or a personal digitalassistant.
 25. The node apparatus of claim 17, further comprising: meansfor operating a dedicated application or suite of applications, whereinthe application or suite of applications is stored on the node apparatusand is executed directly from the nod apparatus when connected to thehost apparatus.
 26. The node apparatus of claim 17, further comprising:means for encrypting and digitally signing data generated during theexecution of the application or suite of applications; and means forstoring the encrypted and digitally signed data at a remote storagedevice.
 27. The node apparatus of claim 26, wherein the remote storagedevice is an online storage device.
 28. The node apparatus of claim 17,wherein the host apparatus comprises a mobile telephone, the nodeapparatus further comprising: means for implementing a mobile telephoneoperating system to operate the host apparatus.
 29. The node apparatusof claim 17, further comprising: means for establishing a connection tothe host apparatus via a USB connection.
 30. The node apparatus of claim17, further comprising: means for establishing a connection to the hostapparatus via an Ethernet connection.
 31. A method of computing using anode apparatus, comprising: establishing a connection to a hostapparatus; and viewing the host apparatus as one or more peripheraldevices, wherein the node apparatus acts as a master device interactingdirectly with the one or more peripheral devices.
 32. The method ofclaim 31, further comprising: performing a network booting operation viaa network connection provided by the host apparatus.
 33. The method ofclaim 31, further comprising: processing one or more tasks assigned bythe host apparatus.
 34. The method of clam 31, further comprising:accessing one or more resources associated with the host apparatus basedon a pre-configured security profile.
 35. The method of claim 31,wherein the one or more peripheral devices comprises one or more of amouse, a hard disk drive, or a network card connected directly to thehost apparatus.
 36. The method of claim 31, further comprising:executing a first operating system, the host apparatus having associatedtherewith a second operating system different from the first operatingsystem.
 37. The method of claim 36, wherein the first operating systemis accessed in a window of a monitor of the host apparatus.
 38. Themethod of claim 31, wherein the host apparatus comprises one of apersonal computer, a server, a mobile telephone, or a personal digitalassistant.
 39. The method of claim 31, further comprising: operating adedicated application or suite of application, wherein the applicationor suite of applications is stored on the node apparatus and is executeddirectly from the node apparatus when connected to the host apparatus.40. The method of claim 39, further comprising: encrypting and digitallysigning data generated during the execution of the application or suiteof applications; and storing the encrypted and digitally signed data ata remote storage device.
 41. The method of claim 40, wherein the remotestorage device is an online storage device.
 42. The method of claim 31,wherein the host apparatus comprises a mobile telephone, and wherein themethod further comprises: implementing a mobile telephone operatingsystem stored on the node apparatus to operate the host apparatus. 43.The method of claim 31, wherein establishing a connection to the hostapparatus comprises establishing a connection via a USB connection. 44.The method of claim 31, wherein establishing a connection to the hostapparatus comprises establishing a connection via an Ethernetconnection.
 45. A computer program product, comprising: acomputer-readable medium comprising: at least one set of codes forcausing a computer to establish a connection to a host apparatus; and atleast one set of codes for causing the computer to view the hostapparatus as one or more peripheral devices, wherein the computer actsas a master device interacting directly with the one or more peripheraldevices.
 46. The computer program product of claim 45, furthercomprising: at least one set of codes for causing the computer toperform a network booting operation via a network connection provided bythe host apparatus.
 47. The computer program product of claim 45,further comprising: at least one set of codes for causing the computerto process one or more tasks assigned by the host apparatus.
 48. Thecomputer program product of claim 45, further comprising: at least oneset of codes for causing the computer to access one or more resourcesassociated with the host apparatus based on a pre-configured securityprofile.
 49. The computer program product of claim 45, wherein the oneor more peripheral devices comprises one or more of a mouse, a hard diskdrive, or a network card connected directly to the host apparatus. 50.The computer program product of claim 45, wherein the computer isconfigured with a first operating system different from a secondoperating system associated with the host apparatus.
 51. The computerprogram product of claim 50, wherein the first operating system isaccessed in a window of a monitor of the host apparatus.
 52. Thecomputer program product of claim 45, wherein the host apparatuscomprises one of a personal computer, a server, or a personal digitalassistant.
 53. The computer program product of claim 45, furthercomprising: at least one set of codes for causing the computer tooperate a dedicated application or suite of applications, wherein theapplication or suite of applications is stored on the computer and isexecuted directly from the computer when connected to the hostapparatus.
 54. The computer program product of claim 53, furthercomprising: at least one set of codes for causing the computer toencrypt and digitally sign data generated during the execution of theapplication or suite of applications; and at least one set of codes forcausing the computer to store the encrypted and digitally signed data ata remote storage device.
 55. The computer program product of claim 45,wherein the host apparatus comprises a mobile telephone.
 56. Thecomputer program product of claim 45, wherein the computer is a selfcontained USB fob.
 57. A host apparatus, comprising: a processingsystem, comprising an operating system, configured to: establish aconnection to one or more node apparatuses; and provide virtual accessto one or more peripheral devices to the one or more node apparatuses,wherein the node apparatus acts as a master device interacting directlywith the one or more peripheral devices.
 58. The host apparatus of claim57, wherein the processing system is further configured to provide apower source to the one or more node apparatuses.
 59. The host apparatusof claim 57, wherein the processing system is further configured toprovide a network connection to the one or more node apparatuses. 60.The host apparatus of claim 57, wherein the processing system is furtherconfigured to assign processing tasks to at least one of the one or morenode apparatuses.
 61. The host apparatus of claim 57, wherein theprocessing system is further configured to: determine a security profileassociated with each of the one or more node apparatuses; and provideaccess to a file system to the one or more node apparatuses based on thesecurity profile.
 62. The host apparatus of claim 57, wherein the one ormore peripheral devices comprises one or more of a mouse, a hard diskdrive, or a network card connected directly to the host apparatus. 63.The host apparatus of claim 57, wherein at least one of the one or morenode apparatuses has associated therewith a second operating systemdifferent from that of the host apparatus.
 64. The host apparatus ofclaim 57, wherein the processing system is further configured to providevirtual access to a monitor attached to the host apparatus by presentinga display window.
 65. The host apparatus of claim 57, wherein the hostapparatus comprises one of a personal computer, a server, a personaldigital assistant, and a mobile telephone.